Soul Mates
by Darlin
Summary: While a storm's brewing Logan & Ororo succumb to their inevitable fate. Early years to present day, 2nd in the Soul Mates series.


**Soul Mates – By Darlin **

**Summary –** A meeting while a storm brews could change two friends relationship forever if only they would let it. Beginning years to the present day.

**Disclaimer –** We all know I don't own them. They're Marvel's.

**-xox-**

**Memories of Old . . .**

The air grew steadily heavy and oppressive as the hot day wore on. A storm was coming. He could tell by the smell and the feel of the atmosphere around him. Even as he thought this he saw clouds moving in, dark and ominous. A bad storm, he guessed and headed back to the lake where he'd left his clothes. He ran effortlessly used to the exercise but his mind was elsewhere remembering another day when it had started to rain – a day much like this.

She could feel the storm brewing as easily as she could tell when a yawn was attempting to escape her lips. Left unheeded it had the potential to be a wicked rainstorm she thought and changing the direction of the wind current she rode upon she headed back to the mansion. Flying homeward her thoughts drifted to another day so similar to this one with a storm nearing. A day that turned into a night that she would never forget yet had never once spoken of not even to herself.

He wondered if she had anything to do with the change in the weather and laughed at the thought of the weatherman's forecast of clear skies last night. He thought absently that the forecaster should get tips from an expert and he raced on trying hard not to think of the expert he had in mind.

She wondered if she should hold back the looming storm or just let nature run its course and then she laughed at the thought of the meteorologist who claimed to be able to forecast the weather last night. Perhaps she could give him a little advice, an anonymous tip here and there. She laughed again not realizing her attempt at humor kept her mind off disturbing memories and onward she flew.

No rain came but lightning streaked through the dimming sky. One lone man growled as he ran through the woods. Not far above him flew a woman who laughed in the face of the tempest. She didn't notice the man below her though he had heard her and was now watching her even as he kept an eye on the threatening sky above. Another bolt struck the earth, this time much closer and he lifted his head to the heavens and howled like a wild animal as if daring the elements to do their worse.

The sound of a wolf or some wounded animal reached her ears and looking downward she saw the creature, more animal than man, raging at the sky. Opening his eyes he saw her, bright and beautiful and as naked as he. She was watching him now even as she had then and time seemed to stand still as memories merged with the present.

**-xox-**

They say that the eyes are the key to the soul. He would never have believed it before but when he looked into her eyes something unexpected and stunning happened to him. She felt it too as she flew downward without thinking. And they watched each other, one standing unclothed in a clearing in the woods the other floating aloft, quite nude, on a strong breeze.

Neither stopped to wonder what drew them to each other. Later they were sure it was something more than the sight of the other clad in nothing more than what they'd been born in. There was a spark, a connection, something unexplainable that compelled them towards each other as if they had no choice.

And so she slowly descended, her eyes never leaving his. A drop of rain splashed onto his uplifted face but his eyes did not waver from hers as he waited for her. Drawn to him inexplicably she could neither think nor control her actions. Impatient, forced by the same compulsion, he reached for her with outstretched arms but she slowed her descent almost as if she were hesitating to submit to this calling, trying to fight it.

Undaunted he leapt and caught her by her ankles pulling her from the sky. Thunder rolled and rumbled angrily. Rain splattered their naked bodies as he rolled on top of her pining her. She made no protest even as his lips covered hers. Without thinking, no longer fighting, her arms went around him and she clung to him as he clung to her.

What happened next neither of them knew how or why but neither wished to stop it despite the consequences. Mindlessly lost in each other they simply gave in to their need. He took her there in the grassy field slick with rain and perspiration, savagely and thoroughly. It was lust but more though they couldn't understand it even if they'd wanted to. They could only submit to its command as the gentle rain became a downpour.

Long hours later the rain had ebbed and the sun peeked briefly from gloomy clouds. Only a light sprinkle fell now. Covered in grass and dirt and each other they laid side by side their legs and hands entangled yet no words were spoken. They could find no words yet even as cognizant thought slowly returned. She shivered at the realization of what had just happened. He moved to cover her with his body his lips seeking hers again. She found her own lips eagerly responding.

He had never wanted or needed a woman more than he had wanted her and still wanted her. He struggled to clear his thoughts and deny his lust, his need for this woman, his friend and teammate but her scent, her taste in his mouth, the feel of her soft warm body overcame all else and he gave into his passion.

She had never wanted or needed a man as she wanted him and still wanted him. Why and how were questions she shrugged aside. She embraced this wild craving that filled her very being. She pushed him from her and climbed on top of him, her wet hair falling down onto his hairy chest. At his groan of desire she smiled and took what she wanted from him.

Hours more passed. The rainstorm had waned and finally died revealing a large silver-white moon full and bright shining in the night sky. Again entwined as if one they laid in each other's arms.

"I know you love her."

The first words spoken.

She felt the tension grow in his body and she kissed his face, his lips, his chest till he toppled her over and took her yet again.

Much later early rising birds began to chirp their morning songs. Dawn would be coming soon yet still they lay intertwined as if they could not bear to lose the others touch so completely had they been enthralled by this unnamed need for each other.

"What're we doin', darlin'?" he asked, his voice thick and husky in her ear.

Her kisses were his only reply and he took her once again reveling in the exquisite feel of her in his mouth, in his hands, against his skin.

Dawn came slowly and they watched its renewing splendor spill out along the horizon. He lay back on the damp grass sated and complete for the first time he could remember. He reached for her hand and grasped it tightly. She wound her legs through his and pressed her head to his chest.

"We are two of a kind my friend," she whispered into his thick forest of hair.

He replied with only a wry chuckle. He could hardly understand these new and strange emotions that had somehow bonded him irrevocably to this woman.

Her fingers pulled free of his and smiling, she brushed them lightly over his lips.

"I will never tell her. No one need ever know."

He caught her hand in his pulling her to him.

"What if I want more?" he asked, the other woman long forgotten.

She said nothing for a moment, her heart pounding so hard she knew she would be lost if she did not flee now. She tried to move, to pull away but the urge that had driven her to him was so strong all she wanted to do was kiss him again and again and never let him go.

"I do want more," he said quietly.

The statement was final.

Struggling with her thoughts, her emotions she reluctantly forced herself to rise. He reached for her again but she stood up, her breath ragged and desperate, her limbs shaking with the horrific effort it took to force herself to reject him. He leapt up and moved towards her needing to hold her, to keep her. She backed away from him her eyes closed as tightly as possible as she fought to regain her control.

"Bright Lady! It . . . it can not be – not yet – if ever."

Her words were forced, ringing hollow, yet her rush upwards into the clear sky made them final. He watched helplessly as she soared higher till she was lost in the blue expanse. With her went a part of his soul.

**-xox-**

**The Here and Now . . .**

Rainy days made people act differently she thought and would have blushed if possible when she remembered how very true her thoughts were. She remembered a long time ago when she had laughed in the face of a storm above a man who howled daring the storm to do it's best. They had mated as if for life that day and all through the night.

There had been only one other since then. A dark and handsome Native American – Forge. She had thought she loved him but she had lied to herself for it was nothing like the deep need and joy she had experienced that first year when she had met her soul mate. For now she knew that it had been an all consuming love that had driven her into his arms that day. A love that she had long denied in deference to the woman she thought he loved – her best friend. She had let him go for that same reason.

If he had not gone away for such a long period of time after that day, that night, she knew she would not have been able to remain true to her decision. Even when he returned she found it was almost impossible to look at him and not feel her heart breaking anew. He had been gruff, distant, unfathomable. In time she was able to ignore the ache within her soul and they began to build a friendship never mentioning what had passed between them.

She watched him fall in love with a woman who was worthy of him. She was glad for him when they announced their wedding plans though her heart ached. Her heart broke even more when he was found unworthy of his bride to be. In her way she tried to lessen his pain but there was so much pain in her own heart that she had no idea if she had been of any use to him. And then there was always her best friend whom she knew he still cared for. Her soul mate would always love another.

She knew without any doubt that he was truly her soul mate though she had denied it all these many years. Yet from the moment his lips touched hers in her watery grave and she awoke to find them both bound together, life giving though it was she had known. When he had helped her discover the many new and different things of America – snowballs and snow angels, teaching her baseball and when they'd played football or soccer as he'd called it – she had felt it. His slightest touch would set her on fire. She had always known though she worked hard to deny it – until that day.

Until that day he had been unaware or so she'd thought. Perhaps he had known all along and had ignored the feelings – ignored her. His eyes saw only one woman then – her best friend whose own heart belonged to another. But sometimes she would catch him watching her and not her friend, the look in his eye unreadable, and she would smile and make small talk as if she had not noticed the intensity of his gaze or felt so drawn to him and his attention would dwindle and shift back to her friend.

After that night she wondered for a long time if he really did love her dear friend. But her pride and self discipline would not let her give herself false hope and she could only assume he did for he seemed to fervently believe it to be so. She presumed he had put that night out of his mind long ago for what was she to him? She would never be like her friend, the woman that he wanted.

Only a few times in all the years they knew each other did they ever falter. A kiss here, a kiss there with no explanation to each other or to anyone who might observe them. Old feelings stirred fighting to be released but they would each push down the incredibly overwhelming need, releasing each other as if nothing had happened between them. Neither mentioning the past nor speaking of why they felt this need to sometimes connect physically.

She had given herself to only one man and it had not been merely the giving of her body but the giving of her heart, her soul – her very essence. There could be no other man for her after that and she had known and accepted her fate that night and never looked back. If she ever allowed herself to remember that moment when she gave her heart and soul to him she would lose herself completely so she denied the memory – pushed it back into the dark recesses of her mind until it was too old and brittle to be tempting. But her heart she could not control and the ache she felt over the years would sometimes become unbearable as it was tonight.

Her best friend was in his arms even now, heedless of her husband just inside. She could see them still even from her perch in a nearby tree. Why she had chosen that night to come back and lurk in the shadows in hopes of glimpsing him, with all the trouble with the Diaries, she did not know. But here she was trapped like a fly on a wall too frightened to move for fear of being caught – of being hurt – of dying.

" . . . It never woulda worked."

Two hearts stopped beating for a split second. Then one woman fled in tears and shame, the other clung to her perch in joy and fear too.

"I know yer there, darlin'," he said looking up into the trees.

Startled she caught her breath then consciously forced herself to breathe again. Smiling nervously she lowered herself to the ground aided by a billowing breeze.

He walked up to her slowly in no hurry.

"There was never anyone but you after that day," he said firmly.

Her fingers covered his lips lightly. He caught them and pressed them gently to his lips and kissed them even as he pulled her to him.

"Did you think it didn't mean anything to me? It wasn't some one night stand. What do you think I did to you that night?" He asked.

"You . . . you made love to me."

"Because I loved you. Still love you."

"Is it time?" She asked herself not realizing she spoke aloud.

"Time fer you to let us be together. Time fer you an' me to admit if we can't get each other outta our system after all this time we ain't ever gonna be able to."

With tears in her eyes she kissed his face, gently shaking her head but saying nothing.

"I'm tired of livin' this way – it's like half livin' always wanting you an' not being able ta have you. It ain't easy for you either!"

"W-what should we do?" She asked, her voice wavering.

"I don't know – probably get married."

"Marriage is forever."

"We're already married in our hearts," he said taking her hands in his. "You once said we were two of a kind but that ain't true. You an' me – we're one."

He took her beautiful face between his ancient callused hands and refused to look away until she answered him. She could feel his need mingling with hers and it threatened to consume her. Then she threw caution to the wind and let her tears spill down her cheeks.

"Yes! It is time!" She laughed now – joyously as rain began to fall from the sky pelting them furiously.

Forgetting all else they became one again there in the grassy knoll by the woods as the rain tapered to a light sprinkle falling gently upon them as if paying tribute to their love.

**A/N –** This is just my explanation why Logan and Ororo always seemed drawn to each other kissing each other over the years but never acting on it. How cool would that be if they really did discover they were soul mates and denied it but fought it throughout the years only to give into it after he finally realized it wasn't Jean he needed!? Well I'm a hopeless RoLo shipper if you can't already tell! It makes me happy. Hope this might've made someone else happy out there. Thanks for reading.


End file.
